W. MUSAVIR:
NUR-SULTAN – More than 3,000 domestic and international economists, political leaders and civil society representatives are expected to gather May 16-17 in the Kazakh capital for the annual Astana Economic Forum (AEF). Approximately half the participants will be foreign delegates from more than 100 countries.
The forum will address changes in global economies, the social sector, digital technologies, multiple industries and the unfolding Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The AEF was convened for the first time in 2008 in the midst of a global financial crisis and has grown into an international platform that helps shape the global economic agenda.
The forum kicks off every year with a focus on a specific topic. Last year, it was about global trends and challenges and this year it will explore “inspiring growth” driven by people, cities and economies.
“The forum participants will discuss new ways for sustainable growth, the development of human capital and how to strengthen the potential of cities as international centres of knowledge and innovations,” said forum organisers.
The programme will feature approximately 50 panel sessions, roundtables, conferences and business meetings.
Among key events are the annual Kazakhstan Global Investment Roundtable (KGIR), an international conference marking the 100th anniversary of the International Labour Organisation, an interim meeting on the preparation to the 12th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation in 2020 and the first forum in Kazakhstan on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The most important of them will be the third round table on global investment (Kazakhstan Global Investment Roundtable) chaired by the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Askar Mamin; the international conference in honor of the 100th anniversary of the International Labor Organization (ILO) to study and discuss the report of the global commission on the future of labor; an interim meeting on the preparation of the 12th ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2020; the first Kazakhstan forum on the sustainable development goals under the auspices of the UN; a strategic session involving the world’s intellectual elite and the government of Kazakhstan under the auspices of the G-Global International Secretariat; a round table of ministers of finance and heads of central banks of the countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia region, member states of the Eurasian Economic Union, and Mongolia.
Astana Economic Forum (AEF) 2019, which will be held at the EXPO Congress Center and Hilton Astana, is set to witness the participation of 3,000 people. Half of them will be delegates from 100 countries. Among the international guests who have confirmed participation are Paul Romer, Nobel Economics Laureate in 2018, and Chief Economist at the World Bank (2016-18); Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund; Stanley Fisher, US Federal Reserve Deputy Chairman (2014-17); Rae Kwon Chung, Nobel peace laureate 2007, and honorary professor at Incheon State University, South Korea; Risto Siilasmaa, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Nokia, and founder of F-Secure Corporation; German Gref, President and Chairman of the Board of Sberbank of Russia; Armida Alisjahbana, Executive Secretary of the United Nations, and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
“The participation of such distinguished politicians and experts in AEF 2019 proves not only the growing interest in the forum itself but is also a sign of a willingness to conduct open dialogue and enter into mutual cooperation,” said forum organisers.
Author is Editor with Media Hub Int’l